A new era has dawned in Sri Lanka with the end of the war. It is a time of peace now, where the nation can build as one, with no ethnic or regional differences. One of the many beneficiaries of this are the sportsmen and sportswomen of this country and sport in general will receive a big boost as there will be a bigger pool of athletes to choose from. One of the first talents to be spotted by Sri Lanka Athletic Association has been Anusha Thanabalasingam, who hails from Vavuniya.
In the early part of her athletic career she started off in High jump and short sprint events. “I was much slimmer then” she said with a smile on her face, “but by the time I reached Under-15 level I had found my niche, which were the field events.” She won the Under-15 Shot-put, Discus and Javelin Throw at provincial level and from then on there has been no looking back. When asked about her life during the war she said, “It didn’t affect my training much as I was from the Vavuniya town itself and there was very few times that there was trouble there.”
“My School (Vavuniya Saivaprgasa Ladies College) and my province helped me out a lot, the only drawback was the lack of access to proper training schedules and information, but my coach from 2005 Mr. S. Jeganenthiran, who still coaches me was instrumental in keeping me on the right track. It was with his help that I broke the Northern provincial record in 2005 and I have been bettering it every year since.”
“I think my biggest achievement up to date is when I bagged the Sri Lanka record in 2008 at the All-Island School Games in the Under-21 category and I was placed first in the Put-Shot as well. Thereafter I was picked by the Athletics officials to attend a training programme in Indonesia.”
This training programme in Indonesia was a great experience for her she says, “Not only did I get to interact with other quality athletes and coaches, but also the small technical changes in my throwing motion and things like what my attitude should be when working towards that one perfect throw were new things that I learned there.” She further went on to say, “After I went to Indonesia and made these subtle variations in my throwing technique my distance has improved by about five meters. And more importantly I feel that I approach my events in a more positive frame of mind.”
Anusha has just started to attend Law College in Colombo and she says that though being a lawyer is one of her dreams, she still hopes to represent Sri Lanka at the highest level and bring glory to her country. “I would love to make it to the Asian Games someday with the Sri Lankan Athletic contingent and who knows, maybe the Olympics as well.” And then she goes on to say, “But all this is in the future, the first thing is to concentrate on what needs to be done now.” It’s hard to believe that she’s only 20 years old, as she seems to be so level headed.
She went on to say that she has to mention her parents who have always been behind her in anything she does, “and my four brothers, they are my pillars of support. The principal of my college Miss Uma Rasaiah, and of course my Coaches Mr S. Jeganenthiran and Mr. J.R. Jayakodi without them I would not be able to achieve anything.”
Sportspeople from the North and East can take heart from this young lady’s story and accept that anything is achievable in this new era of peace, as long as they have the courage and dedication to do so.
“Anyone can win when things go their way; it's the one who overcomes adversity that is the true champion.” |
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